In recent blog posts here and here, we discussed the impact coronavirus / COVID-19 is having on the workforce, and what employers should or should not be doing in response to the outbreak. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization’s (“WHO”) declared the coronavirus/ COVID-19 outbreak is a “pandemic.”[1]
Importantly, WHO’s declaration of a pandemic should not cause employers to alter preexisting reasonable protocols and precautions. Employers should continue to monitor the development of COVID-19 and communicate with their employees based on official sources and facts. In particular, employers should be cautioned against offering medical opinions and examinations or engaging in containment strategies not in line with guidance from the CDC and/or local authorities. However, employers are encouraged to regularly check for updates from the CDC and other state and local authorities, to determine if changing circumstances warrant changes in their existing protocols and precautions. In light of this development, this post addresses what a pandemic means for employers and how existing guidance has changed.
Medical Examinations.[2]
The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) protects employees from employer inquiries into an employee’s medical status or employer-conducted medical examinations. Taking an employee’s temperature can be considered a “medical examination” under the ADA, and is therefore generally prohibited. However, a medical examination is permitted if an employer can show it is job-related and consistent with business necessity,
or that the employee poses a “direct threat” to the work place [3]. Whether a medical condition poses a direct threat to the workplace is a fact-specific inquiry. [4] In the absence of a pandemic, a seasonal cold or flu would not rise to the level of a direct threat justifying a medical exam. In its flu pandemic guidance,[5] the EEOC states that, “If the CDC or state or local public health authorities determine that the illness is like seasonal influenza or the 2009 spring/summer H1N1 influenza, it would notpose a direct threat or justify disability-related inquiries and medical examinations.”
By contrast, if the CDC, state or local health authorities determine that a pandemic is significantly more severe, it could pose a direct threat under the ADA, providing legal justification for an employer’s medical examination. The assessment by the CDC or public health authorities would provide the objective evidence needed for a disability-related inquiry or medical examination.[6]
Although the classification of an illness as a pandemic may technically allow an employer to measure an employee’s temperature, employers should exercise caution before taking this step for the following reasons:
Employees may be infected with COVID-19 without having a fever. Employee temperature checks may therefore not be an accurate measurement of an infected workforce and ultimately may instill a false sense of security. As a practical matter, this may be difficult to administer, and may require employers to consider additional costs associated with this. Employers’ first steps should be sending sick employees home. The EEOC states that sending a sick employee home is not a disability-related action. Further, the EEOC states that employers may ask an employee if they are experiencing flu-like (or COVID-19) symptoms during a pandemic. Employee Refusal to Work Based on Fear.
Many employers are facing a scenario where, regardless of policies put in place, employees are afraid to come into work. Employees are only entitled to refuse to work if they believe they are in “imminent danger.” Section 13(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) defines “imminent danger” as “any conditions or practices in any place of employment which are such that a danger exists which can reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the imminence of such danger can be eliminated through the enforcement procedures otherwise provided by this Act.” OSHA further discusses imminent danger as where there is “threat of death or serious physical harm,” or “a reasonable expectation that toxic substances or other health hazards are present, and exposure to them will shorten life or cause substantial reduction in physical or mental efficiency.”
The threat must be immediate or imminent, which means that an employee must believe that death or serious physical harm could occur within a short time, for example, before OSHA (or potentially the CDC) could investigate the problem. At this time, most work conditions in the United States do not meet the elements required for an employee to refuse to work, even in light of the WHO’s recent declaration of a pandemic. However, this guidance is general, and employers must consider the specific circumstances of its workplace before determining whether it is permissible for employees to refuse to work. However, as noted within the CDC’s interim guidance, employers are encouraged to be flexible, and to consider whether telecommuting is feasible for its employees.
As the global community monitors the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak, employers should continue to maintain communication with its employees, reinforce or amend sick leave policies, develop plans for its employees in the event of a state of emergency or lockdown, and consider telecommuting or remote work policies.
[1] A pandemic is a global “epidemic.”
[2] Coronavirus/ COVID-19 is likely not a disability because it is a temporary illness, however, that liability can extend for perceived disabilities or association under applicable state law.
[3]A “direct threat” is “a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation.” (https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/pandemic_flu.html citing ADA)
[5] The EEOC has directly referred to this guidance in relation to the coronavirus/ COVID-19 outbreak. https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/wysk_ada_rehabilitaion_act_coronavirus.cfm


Underwater robots, such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), are essential tools for ocean exploration. These robots can explore areas of the ocean that are too dangerous or too difficult for humans to go. Underwater robots come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be outfitted with numerous sensors and tools to collect extensive amounts of data from deep-sea environments.
Choose from the sections below to further explore ocean exploration education resources on underwater robots.
Explore fact sheets, essays, and stories from our explorers to learn more about the field of underwater robot operations.Read more
Access selected lessons about underwater robots developed by scientists and educators during recent expeditions.Read more


Ocean Tomo Financial Experts Michelle J. Avery and Nicole McTernan joined Ocean Tomo Management Consulting group’s Drew Sills to author an article for IAM focused on “Why Patent Litigators are Central to a Wide Range of Commercial Disputes.” In their article, the team explores a “fundamental shift in commercial litigation, with IP strategy, policy and other considerations broadly emerging as critical factors in litigation beyond traditional IP infringement”. The transition in the role of IP in commercial legal matters raises awareness of the need to consider IP issues in a wide range of case types including antitrust, breach of contract, fraud, attorney malpractice, and insurance matters, among others. They point to recent trends and growing recognition for the importance of IP in the venture capital market, private equity, government fund allocations and corporate lending.
The article explores IP issues related to a variety of case types. The observations, particularly the interconnectivity between IP and core business strategies both inside and outside the courtroom, are in large part the driving force behind Ocean Tomo’s expansion from an “IP only” firm to a broader Financial Expert, Management Consulting and Advisory firm.
To explore this topic and how it could influence your case, please contact the authors: Michelle J. Avery, CPA, CFF at mavery@oceantomo.com or +1 703 654 1479; Nicole McTernan, CPA, CFF at nmcternan@oceantomo.com or +1 703 654 1433; Drew Sills at dsills@oceantomo.com or +1 (312) 377-4833.


As the threat landscape continues to intensify, Zero Trust has come to define today’s cybersecurity agenda. Recently, the U.S. Federal Government announced a new strategy to move toward this approach in order to “dramatically reduce the risk of successful cyber attacks against the Federal Government’s digital infrastructure.” To explore current industry thinking around Zero Trust, Palo Alto Networks and our technology partner, Tufin, sponsored a Vation Ventures Roundtable Session, bringing together the chief information officer (CISO) consensus from leading organizations.
As CTO of Network Security Technology Partnerships for Palo Alto Networks, I participated in the panel together with Pamela Cyr, Senior Vice President of Business and Corporate Development for Tufin. The discussion was highly valuable in illuminating the challenges in Zero Trust implementation, as well as best practices for achieving its potential.
Here are a few of our takeaways from the CISO consensus.
The CISOs on our panel shared a strong consensus that Zero Trust is a valid framework for reducing cyber exposure, with buy-in and a willingness from upper management to fund Zero Trust initiatives. However, its implementation will be more of a process than an overnight transformation. Participants emphasized the need to proceed step-by-step, use incremental victories to gain advocacy and momentum, and expand the Zero Trust model gradually across the organization. Collaboration with both internal business stakeholders and external resources, such as peers, experts and solution providers, is key to building best practices for designing, deploying and operating a Zero Trust infrastructure.
As for where to begin, some panelists saw value in targeting areas where a Zero Trust architecture could have the greatest impact in the shortest amount of time. Others felt it wiser to focus first on areas with a lower profile, where CISOs can better afford to make mistakes and learn lessons without undermining longer-term security and Zero Trust goals.
Participants engaged in a fascinating exploration of the relationships among the three pillars of Zero Trust success: people, process and technology. While technology is critical, the first priority is to define the right processes for Zero Trust, and then to educate employees and set their expectations accordingly. Technology, in turn, enables these processes and provides a way for people to adhere to Zero Trust practices.
Technology solutions can also play a vital role in addressing a lack of resources or expertise in the other two areas, allowing the CISO to focus on delivering on enterprise business priorities without disruption. Capabilities such as IAM, micro-segmentation, visibility and automation are essential, but only in support of the right processes and human expectations.
With both business applications and employees more widely distributed than ever, complex network topologies can make it impossible for security operations center teams to maintain comprehensive visibility without becoming overwhelmed. By automating a majority of the networking and security tasks, CISOs can enable analysts to focus on the highest fidelity alerts, making it possible to balance speed and security.
On a daily basis, business demands the deployment of new services and new connections across this agile and complex environment. Lacking automation for network changes, IT cannot design and deploy the changes needed to support the business in a timely fashion. This creates windows of opportunity for threat actors to gain access to networks and defeat the objectives of deploying a Zero Trust architecture (ZTA).
While the scope of implementation across a large organization can be daunting, Zero Trust is just too promising and too visible with senior leadership not to proceed. The CISOs who participated in our roundtable have embraced their mission and charted a path forward to Zero Trust success. Visit our page and learn how to become a Zero Trust Enterprise.


Table of Contents
On writ of certiorari from a divided decision of the Court of Appeals, ___ N.C. App. ___, 811 S.E.2d 215 (2018), the court held that the trial court’s decision to include an “aggressor” instruction in its self-defense instructions did not constitute plain error. The trial court, without any defense objection instructed the jury on self-defense, stating that the defendant would not be excused from murder or manslaughter on self-defense grounds if he “was the aggressor with the intent to kill or inflict serious bodily harm upon the deceased.” According to the defendant, no evidence was introduced showing him to be the aggressor. The court noted however that because he did not object to the instruction at trial, he waived his right to challenge the aggressor instruction on appeal. Applying the plain error standard, the court found it not satisfied. It noted that the defendant sent multiple text messages to another individual in the hours before the victim’s death indicating that he wanted to kill the victim. Additionally, the record contains no physical evidence tending to validate the defendant’s otherwise unsupported claim of self-defense and does contain substantial physical evidence tending to undercut this claim, including evidence that the victim sustained defensive wounds to her hand, that she sustained stab wounds inflicted from the rear, and that the defendant’s wounds were much less severe than those inflicted upon the victim. As a result, given that the defendant’s claim to have acted in self-defense rested on his otherwise unsupported testimony and that the record contained ample justification for questioning the credibility of the defendant’s account surrounding the victim’s death, the court found itself unable to conclude that any error associated with the instruction rose to the level of plain error.


Considered as the father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud was an influential persona in the field of Psychology. His significant role in developing what today is known as the Psychodynamic perspective, focusing on 'unconsciousness,' attracted many followers while at the same time paving the way for conflicting ideals and opinions
Freud surely attracted several followers who were influenced by his work, including some of his students as well. These theorists were referred to as neo-Freudians or post-Freudians. Some of them modified his theories to produce new theories on personality, agreeing with his propositions while straying away from some. The neo-Freudians shared Freud's belief that early life experiences impact an individual's personality. However, they downplayed the importance of sex in favor of the social environment and the cultural influences that impact personality. This article will focus on Carl Jung, Karen Horney, Erik Erikson, and Alfred Adler, some of the most prominent neo-Freudians.
Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss Psychiatrist and a student of Freud who developed his theories about personality. Although Jung agreed with Freud that the unconscious has great relevance, he thought that Freud overemphasized the significance of sexuality.
Besides Freud's major focus was on the unconscious, Jung believed that there is also the collective unconscious, which is a repository of ancestral memories. The common motifs in many civilizations' literature, art, and dreams represent these ancestral memories or archetypes as described by Jung. With this focus on self-actualization and an orientation toward the future, Jung strayed away from Freud's theory that personality is purely determined by previous experiences and foresaw the humanistic approach.
Karen Horney, an early 20th-century German psychoanalyst, challenged parts of Sigmund Freud's ideas, which resulted in the creation of
feminist psychology. Most people probably know Horney for her criticism of Sigmund Freud, and she and Alfred Adler are credited with founding Neo-Freudianism, which deviates from conventional Freudian thinking. Horney was a harsh opponent of Freud's theories of psychosexual development and found the idea of penis envy to be particularly degrading to the feminine identity
Karen Horney argued that gender power disparities which, to some extent, exist even today, rather than being an underlying psychological complex, were the cause of penis envy. According to this theory, women envy men's privilege and power rather than their penises. Horney further added that men could be jealous of women since they are less under pressure to get to prominence
Alfred Alder, an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology, initially worked with Sigmund Freud as a colleague, contributed to the development of psychoanalysis, and was a founder of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He is known to be one of the first prominent members of Freud's circle to withdraw himself formally and start his school of psychotherapy
Adler strongly believed that instead of the segmented portions of the id, ego, and superego, as described by Freud, an individual need to be seen as a whole—a holistic being. However, the Freudian idea of the fragmented human being continues to be the prevailing theory for comprehending human psychology. While Adler held that humans are capable beings and make conscious decisions, Freud thought that natural forces and the unconscious drove humanity. While he disagreed with Freud on multiple levels, many of the earlier claims made by Freud (such as the idea that a person's personality is formed from their own childhood experiences) were still held by Adler
Erik Homburger Erikson was a German-American developmental psychologist and psychotherapist renowned for his theories on the psychosocial development of humans
Contrary to popular belief, there are significant discrepancies between Freud's and Erikson's views of development, even though both emphasize the significance of early experiences, particularly one's childhood experiences. The main distinction is that Erikson's psychosocial theory centers more on social and environmental aspects. Unlike Freud's psychosexual theory, which emphasizes fundamental needs and biological processes. Additionally, Erikson extends his theory throughout adulthood, whereas Freud's theory stops at a younger age, making it more acceptable
There is no denying that Sigmund Freud is the psychological theorist who has generated the most controversy and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, the fact that Freud was a physician and not a psychologist should be kept in mind when reading his views. In order to comprehend some of the current debates around his beliefs, it can be helpful to remember that there was no such thing as a psychology degree when he was pursuing his higher education. Despite this, Freud was the first to thoroughly examine and theorize the operation of the unconscious mind in the way we connect with modern contemporary psychology.
Freud's ideas aided in developing the foundation of modern psychology. However, his theories and formulations have been a subject of criticism and questioning since time immemorial, and there is still skepticism about the applicability of his theory in the contemporary setting. However, Freud's theories have had a significant influence and are still evident in many present-day psychological trends, and his psychoanalysis is still relevant today.


An overview of how a company can own its own shares.
While it may sound unusual, a company can own shares in itself. Of the two main methods of doing so, the most common is when the company holds treasury shares.
Treasury Shares
Shares can be transferred into treasury when they have been purchased by a company from a shareholder out of distributable profits in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. It should be noted that a company is under no obligation to hold its shares in treasury following a share buyback out of distributable profits and may instead choose to cancel the repurchased shares. When a company buys back its shares into treasury the shares still exist, and so the company’s share capital does not change but the treasury shares have no right to vote, capital distributions or dividends. The treasury shares can later be sold to a new investor (or used to exercise options) without having to complete the process of a new share allotment.
For more information on share buy backs, please see our FAQ.
Gifted Shares
The other, less common, method for a company to own its own shares is where a shareholder gifts the company some of his/her shares at nil value. A shareholder may gift a company its shares for the following reasons:
The shareholder wishes to exit the company but there is no buyer for their shares; The company wishes to remove historical deferred shares but does not wish to finance or go through the process of a reduction in capital or a share buyback; or A director or employee may have to give up their shares in connection with the termination of their position.
When shares are gifted back to the company, a stock transfer will take place with nothing being paid for the shares. Since the company is now the owner of these shares, the register of members will need to be updated. The transferred shares will retain the same rights they previously enjoyed (e.g., if a shareholder transfers 10 ordinary shares to the company, the company will now show as the holder of 10 ordinary shares and will enjoy the benefit of the rights attached to these shares as any other shareholder would).
If shares are gifted back to the company, there are more limitations on what they can do with the shares compared to shares bought back into treasury. While it is relatively simple to grant options over treasury shares or issue shares from treasury (for example, to an investor) (both of which can be done on the Vestd Platform), the process is more complicated when the shares are held by the company after they have been gifted. If the company wishes to grant options over these shares, the process would be that of granting options over shareholder shares which requires additional documentation and is not currently supported on the platform. If they wish to issue these shares to a new or existing shareholder they would need to follow the process for a share transfer.
Tax implications also need to be considered when gifting shares to the company as it will be considered a disposal of shares and will give rise to capital gains tax. The amount of tax payable will be calculated based on the difference between the value of the shares at the time the shareholder bought them and the value at the time they gift them. HMRC has set up a calculator to help shareholders know how much capital gains tax they will pay. Tax liabilities may vary depending on an individual's circumstances and professional tax advice should always be sought.
If you're considering any of the above, please speak to your legal advisor.
Our team, content and app can help you make informed decisions. However, any guidance and support should not be considered as 'legal, tax or financial advice.'


Definition: an animal that excavates holes or tunnels into soil or benthic sediment to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Inhabited burrows function as a refuge, protecting the inhabitants from predation and environmental extremes. They provide physical support for the digging and feeding activities of the burrow inhabitants. The harsh chemical environment deep in aquatic burrows must be counteracted by active or passive irrigation of burrow water.
Definition: Downward conveyors exhibit a feeding strategy opposite to that of upward conveyors. Vertically oriented head-up feeders actively select and ingest particles at the surface and egest these non-locally as faeces in deeper sediment strata


By In a recent report submitted to the UN Security Council, MONUSCO (United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Congo) are concerned about the renewed activity of Rwandan rebels, the FDLR. The DRC government in Kinshasa rejects this information, stating that it is merely a way of the UN mission justifying its continued presence in the DRC.
All military operations initiated in the East to neutralise the FDLR rebels have not produced the desired effects on the ground. Far from the triumphalism the DRC government sometimes infers, MONUSCO think that the FDLR have retained their capacity to do harm. In a recent report submitted to the Security Council, MONUSCO voiced their concern. The report considers that the operations initiated by the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), in which MONUSCO troops have not been involved, have not fundamentally dismantled the networks that feed the FDLR. Instead, Rwandan rebels managed to reorganise, maintaining their capacity for action, to the frustration of the UN mission. In their report the UN mission noted that “despite the operations since January by the Congolese army against the FDLR,” the military capabilities of these remain intact.” Once informed of the report’s details, the government of the DRC immediately challenged MONUSCO. Government spokesperson Lambert Mende said that “MONUSCO simply wants to justify the extension of its mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo. What (the report) says is completely wrong.”
Between the government in Kinshasa and MONUSCO, who is right, who is wrong? The question is worth its weight in gold. It must be noted that for the last military operation against the FDLR, Kinshasa strongly opposed the involvement of MONUSCO, suggesting that the military was able to fulfill its responsibilities to the end. Despite pressure from UN authorities, Kinshasa remained unmoved. It is a fact that, away from MONUSCO’s involvement, Kinshasa has led and continues to lead the hunt for FDLR troops. And when MONUSCO reveals that this negative force has not lost all its capacity for harm, there is perhaps reason to wonder why. Nevertheless, we know that, according to the UN experts’ report, the operations by the FARDC forced the Rwandan rebels to withdraw from some of their positions, temporarily disrupting their livelihoods in the process. However, the MONUSCO report calls into question the balance provided by the FARDC after these operations. From the FARDC’s operations, 35 FDLR were killed and 313 others captured from 2 January to 24 August 2015. The captured FDLR were sent to Angenga military prison in the province of Equateur, a report which, according to MONUSCO, is not consistent with the reality on the ground. According to investigations conducted on the ground in August, “the Panel claims to have been able to verify the presence in this prison no more than 175 suspected members of the FDLR.” In the same vein, the report also addresses the operation launched against Ugandan rebels of the ADF who have caused death and destruction in Beni and surroundings areas. In this regard, the UN report states: “The operations against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) continued for the second consecutive year, but did not allow for the withdrawal of some elements of the armed group.” As for killings attributed to the ADF, the UN report indicates that from October 2014 to June 2015, between 350 and 450 civilians were killed in the Beni territory. The report stated that “the killings were partially committed by the ADF. Neither the FARDC nor MONUSCO have managed to protect the civilian population against these repeated attacks” before outlining the deficiencies in the operations against the ADF. Overall, the experts’ report notes that operations against armed groups in the eastern part of the country “have limited success” and “did not allow to dismantle the groups targeted.” According to the same report, “armed groups continue to pose a threat to peace and stability in the region” mentioning the case of members of the FRPI‘s scattered military operations, but continue to commit serious violations of human rights against civilians. It must be noted that on January 28 the FARDC officially launched operations against the FDLR, without the participation of MONUSCO. Initially, these operations benefited from the UN mission’s support, but military cooperation between the two was suspended following the appointment by Kinshasa of two generals suspected of serious violations of human rights in the east of the country. It must be said that relations between MONUSCO and Kinshasa are no longer friendly. Both sides pretend to live together while remaining suspicious, one cautious regarding the other. In his last message to Parliament in a joint session, the Head of State clearly established the principle of of the UN troops’ gradual withdrawal in the DRC, stating that after the government’s intense efforts, defense forces and security services of the DRC had acquired the expertise to protect the country. This infers that the statements of MONUSCO regarding the FDLR merely throw oil on a fire that had already begun to fade. The question on everybody’s lips however is that of how the combination of the forces of MONUSCO (25,000) and FARDC (25,000) can not put to an end that of some 1,600 FDLR combatants?
Darell Maurice Darell Maurice is a Journalist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city Kinshasa and works for Canal7kintv. He also blogs here.


The statute of limitations, which establishes a deadline for bringing a civil lawsuit against an at-fault party, is imposed by each state in the US. The following limitations from the razavi law group apply to the time in California:
Personal Injury: According to California Civil Practice Law and Rules (CVP) 214, personal injury claims must be filed within three years of the incident.
Wrongful Death: The statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits in California is two years, according to Estates, Powers & Trusts (EPT) 5-4.1.
Malpractice in the medical field: According to CVP 214-A, victims of medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice typically have two years and six months to file a lawsuit.
In some situations, there may be factors that change these conventional deadlines. Your proposed lawsuit may be rejected or dismissed without a hearing if the pertinent deadline in your situation is not met.


Ariel Fromer Babcock is director at FCLTGlobal; Robert G. Eccles is Visiting Professor of Management Practice at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford; and Sarah Keohane Williamson is Chief Executive Officer of FCLTGlobal. This post is based on a chapter in the forthcoming
The Handbook of Board Governance (2nd Ed.). Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes The Myth that Insulating Boards Serves Long-Term Value by Lucian Bebchuk (discussed on the Forum here) and Can We Do Better by Ordinary Investors? A Pragmatic Reaction to the Dueling Ideological Mythologists of Corporate Law by Leo E. Strine (discussed on the Forum here).
Research from FCLTGlobal and others confirms that long-term companies outperform on financial metrics, including revenues, profitability, and stock price, as well as non-financial ones like job creation and sustainability. As a recent study of large public companies in the USA found, from 2001-2014 long-term companies cumulatively grew their revenues 47% more on average as compared to their shorter-term peers, and with less volatility. During the same period, these same long-term companies similarly outperformed on measures of economic profit—cumulatively growing by more than 80% on average compared to peers—while also enjoying earnings growth 35% higher than peers.
How do these companies maintain their relentless focus on the long term, investing even in the face of significant upheaval and global market uncertainty? Time and time again, we find that successful companies, in addition to producing compelling financial returns, have long-term oriented cultures and values, underscored by a framework of consistent governance principles, that guide them through tough times. Values and culture are shaped by the tone and actions from the top of an organization—and the board is the ultimate top.
Despite this potential to be a long-term beacon atop their organizations, corporate management teams frequently cite their own board as one of the primary sources of short-term pressure on their companies. Meanwhile, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) found in their 2017-2018 Public Governance Survey that three in four directors agree that short-term pressure has compromised management’s focus on strategic goals.
But some organizations
ignore the distractions and follow their long-term strategies, even while peers chase short-term performance. do
Arguably among a company’s biggest untapped strategic assets, a well-functioning long-term corporate board of directors wields the power to meaningfully influence the purpose, culture, and direction of an organization. Directors, as long-term stewards of their companies with average tenures that typically exceed management, are uniquely positioned to keep a company focused on the distant horizon-setting an appropriate long-term tone for both corporate management and shareholders and ultimately driving long-term value creation. Boards who can get this right offer a significant potential source of value for their companies. But getting it right requires addressing three key dilemmas for boards. These dilemmas are summarized below and set out in our recent contributed chapter for the forthcoming second edition of
The Handbook of Board Governance. First, time spent on strategy. Long-term boards spend almost twice as much time on strategy, business model, risks, and the company’s value creation proposition than short-term boards. But many boards struggle with the question of how to achieve this time allocation. We found prioritizing strategy for successful long-term boards doesn’t just mean having one strategy meeting a year, but rather addressing progress on strategy in every meeting as well as devoting significant time outside of regular meetings to gathering information relevant to key strategic priorities that can better inform the board’s decision making. This foundational “homework” is a mosaic of conversations with management and other employees, site-visits, competitor product comparisons, discussions with external stakeholders like suppliers or customers, and a continuous review of industry competitive analysis from both internal and external sources—among other things. That information gathering effort then informs the board’s decision making, sparking more meaningful discussion and debate around key strategic priorities and risks. Second, directors as owners. Long-term boards build and perpetuate an effective board over time by acting like owners, and they can achieve this by encouraging directors to be owners themselves via direct stock ownership. While there are some concerns about the short-term hazards director stock ownership may create, the preliminary evidence seems to point toward linkage with long-term benefit- but only if the ownership structure is aligned with long-term goals. In our conversations with directors and other board experts, we found consensus around an emerging solution that is relatively straightforward and has just two criteria. First directors could be required, over a period of years determined by the company, to accumulate, , a proportion or fixed minimum multiple of their cash compensation in stock of the company they serve. Second, directors would be prohibited from selling or hedging all accumulated stock during and for a period of years (again to be determined by the company) in the open market . By purchasing stock directly in the open market with their own earned wealth and then locking up that stock through and beyond tenure on the board, directors’ interests and experiences are aligned with those of their long-term shareholders, creating and reinforcing an ownership mindset. through and beyond their term of service Third, board level direct engagement with shareholders. We find the boards of successful long-term companies are often the most adept at engaging directly with their long-term shareholders. Such direct interactions offer an invaluable source of insight and a means for establishing solid relationships of mutual trust and respect. But many board members worry about how to engage with shareholders without distracting or undermining management, and some question whether it is the board’s role to engage at all. Successful long-term boards find direct engagement with their investors is worth the effort, contributing to a strong understanding of the objectives of long-term shareholders and informing the board’s strategy work.
The boards of public companies today are under significant pressure, often getting distracted by near-term concerns and losing their way in the process—even becoming a source of short-term pressure themselves. However, it’s clear the corporate board of directors wields meaningful influence over a company’s approach to long-term value creation and can provide the steady hand needed to steer a company towards a distant horizon. Setting the right long-term tone at the top is a critical role for the board, helping insulate management and the company as a whole from short-term market pressures.
Boards who follow these prescriptions can set off a virtuous circle. Boards who have devoted significant time to strategy work are well versed in the company’s prospects and can clearly articulate these prospects to shareholders when engaging with them directly. They find shareholder engagement offers new perspectives on their strategy and can use that feedback to inform future board work. And they are often prepared to answer the questions of shareholders because they are indeed shareholders themselves and have thought through the very same questions with an ownership mindset. This positive feedback loop helps boards transform themselves into a valuable long-term strategic asset for their company. By: 1) relentlessly prioritizing and focusing on strategy-related work; 2) becoming long-term owners themselves via director stock purchase and long-term lock-ups; and 3) engaging with long-term shareholders to establish mutual trust and respect while gathering valuable feedback on company performance and direction, long-term boards establish a self-reinforcing cycle of behavior that ultimately leads to a board culture focused on long-term value creation.


The ORNL DAAC recently released a new Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) dataset by Fienup-Riodan, A., et al. (2021):
This dataset provides a booklet documenting the discussions and outcomes from a knowledge-exchange meeting with Yup'ik elders from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), western Alaska, community members, and natural scientist to discuss landscape and weather changes that have been observed in their homelands. The meeting was held during November 14-16, 2018. Yup'ik participants represented several YKD villages that occupy very different biophysical environments, and they have lifelong perspectives of environmental conditions and change that predate the era of Earth-observing satellites by many decades. Nearly 16 hours of discussion and testimonials from YKD elders were recorded during the meeting. The booklet is structured according to the environmental change processes that were discussed (e.g., coastal flooding, permafrost thaw, shrub expansion, climate change) and includes narrative summaries, quotations from participants, graphical illustrations, and examples of the field- and remote-sensing-based scientific findings, and map products developed as part of the larger ABoVE project.
The ABoVE is a NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program field campaign being conducted in Alaska and western Canada, for 8 to 10 years, starting in 2015. Research for ABoVE links field-based, process-level studies with geospatial data products derived from airborne and satellite sensors, providing a foundation for improving the analysis, and modeling capabilities needed to understand and predict ecosystem responses to, and societal implications of, climate change in the Arctic and Boreal regions.
Additional data from ABoVE and other relevant links can be found on the ORNL DAAC's ABoVE Project Page.
Citation: Fienup-riordan, A., G.V. Frost, R. Nayamin-kelly, U.S. Bhatt, A.S. Hendricks, M. John, and P. Odom. 2021. Alaska's Changing YK Delta: Knowledge Exchange between Elders and Geoscientists, 2018. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1894


Mobility loss: A “Giant of Geriatrics” As the late Professor Benard Isaacs detailed in his classic book, “The Challenge of Geriatric Medicine,” immobility, instability, incontinence and intellectual impairment constitute the foundation of geriatrics that continues to this day. These “giants of geriatrics” are all connected, progressive, and caused by multiple factors and have no simple cure. Since its inception in 1992, significant strides have been made in the measurement of mobility, identifying predictors of mobility loss and conceptual models that help explain loss of the mobility. Despite these advancements, mobility loss continues to lack clinical attention, robust biomedical targets, objectively-measured surveillance systems, and effective treatments.
As a result, mobility difficulty has remained persistently high and stagnant since it was systematically measured in the late 1980’s. Currently, 30% of Americans aged 60-69, 40% of individuals aged 70-79, and 55% of individuals age 80 or older report difficulties with their mobility (e.g. walking and climbing stairs).
7 Society costs are also significant. Medicare beneficiaries who report difficulties walking a quarter-mile have $42 billion in additional health care costs and over 2 million more hospitalizations than those without limitations. Focus on Mobility is Ideal for Basic, Translational and Intervention Research. Moving freely and easily through space only occurs when the coordinated effort between these systems occurs efficiently alongside environmental demands.
Four major themes idealize the study of “mobility” as a translational discipline:
1) spatiotemporal dynamics of movement are dictated through the metabolic energy and force transfer; 2)mobility is impacted by the physical environment an individual’s ability to adapt; 3)mobility control is organized through a neural-mediated feedback and feedforward pattern; 4)musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary physiology are strongly connected to whole-body mechanics.
These themes speak to the notion that mobility loss truly requires an interdisciplinary approach. Mobility deficits may originate from a systemic process, a universal molecular process, or in specific organ systems that include muscular, skeletal, brain, peripheral nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems. The scientific challenge is that a culmination of these factors are likely to be involved.
TRAM exploits this complexity by defining mechanistic research not only on biological underpinnings (e.g. autophagy, molecular clocks, longevity genes), but also sub-clinical factors (e.g. human brain inter-network interactions) while also considering the influence of disease in a geroscience-like approach. Fortunately for our goal, all species have some form of mobility/locomotion that is quantifiable. It is not surprising that many fundamental discoveries, such as cytochromes in winged insects and skeletal remodeling, were due to understanding an animal’s mobility. Studying mobility provides a “hard” quantifiable outcome for translating new interventions from clinical, psychosocial, physiological and/or pre-clinical origins.
Mobility Loss: Reversible, but Limited Interventions. Our doctrine is that mobility loss is a preventable chronic condition rather than an irreversible consequence of aging and comorbidity. Investigators at the Institute on Aging (IOA) and involved program faculty are at the forefront for testing and discovering the underlying causes and new interventions for preventing and rehabilitating the loss in mobility in clinical and pre-clinical models. As evidence of this ideology, the LIFE trial definitively demonstrated that a structured moderate-intensity physical activity program reduced the risk of major mobility disability in 1635 vulnerable older adults. We continued this endeavor in the ENabling Reduction of low-Grade Inflammation in SEniors (ENRGISE, AG050499) where 289 persons were enrolled with mobility limitations and elevated IL-6 and mobility limitations. Unfortunately, neither fish oil and losartan, alone or in combination, reduced inflammation nor improved walking speed, compared to placebo.
We continue this pursuit in our other active intervention-based studies (REVIVE, SPICE, OPTIMIZE, RESTORES, UCOPE) by targeting biological processes, behaviors (nutrition + exercise) and psychosocial factors that are known to impact mobility. We also discover new risk factors for mobility loss in our active and recently completed observational studies (Mind in Motion, SOMMA, ChoresXL, PECAN, PEAKS, ROAMM, UpFRONT, Sepsis- Induced Frailty).
TRAM will follow its doctrine by creating a workforce of scientists who develop mobility-related interventions by targeting hallmark age-related biological targets, physiological underpinnings, and psychosocial and neurodegenerative processes.


On June 11, the S&P 500 price declined by 5.8%. This was the largest percentage decline since March 16 and could have been the beginning of a longer-term downward trend.
S&P 500 Tumbles
On June 11, the price of the S&P 500 index fell considerably from a high of 3190 to a low of 2998. While the decline had begun on June 9, the drop accelerated two days after. However, the price has found some support above its 200-day moving average (MA), and the daily RSI has bounced at 50, both bullish signs.
In addition, the 50-day MA is moving upwards, possibly indicating that it will create a bullish cross with the 200-day one. Whether this cross takes place or gets rejected will be a deciding factor in determining the direction of the future trend.
However, due to the failure to break the February highs, it’s possible that the entire previous decline was an upward correction in response to the prior rapid decline. Price touched the June 9 high at precisely the 0.854 Fib level of that fall.
Well-known trader @Bobloukas shares this belief, more specifically stating that this entire move was a retracement, and the price has already reached its immediate highs. He outlined a long-term correction for the index. However, after yesterday’s decline, he believes a bounce is due, stating that:
Historically not a good time to be getting too bearish. Wait for the bounce out of the half low before looking.
Correlation With Bitcoin
At least since the March retracement, both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin have been positively correlated with each other. Basically, an increase/decrease in the price of the one was also visible in the price of the other.
While there was a divergence at the beginning of May, in which the BTC price increased while that of the S&P 500 declined, they have now converged. This suggests that while there might be short-term movements that break the pattern, the prices of both assets are positively correlated with each other.
Since our Bitcoin analysis also forecasts a bearish trend, it is in alignment with the analysis of the S&P 500.
The post Was Bitcoin’s Decline Caused By The Stock Market Dump? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Source: Be In Crypto


To learn a new language relatively easily, you have to have the opportunity to use it. By using it more and more, you become familiar with it, and thereby become more comfortable with it, picking its nuances. But middle age can be a substantial barrier. My elders were comfortable with English, having learnt it in colonial schools; my father was even able to toss out an apt quotation in English at appropriate times. Yet, under the Japanese Military Occupation of Malaya, he had experienced great difficulty with the Japanese language.
In contrast, those post-war European immigrants who had arrived in Australia without any knowledge of English, were able to learn enough of the language, through continued usage, to be reasonably facile, if not competent, in a reasonable time. Those of us from Europe and (later) from Asia, who had learnt English before arrival, had only to moderate our accents – apart from coping with the unfamiliar Australian accents, and some quaint (and often colourful) colloquialisms. Yet, no matter how hard we tried, there were those Aussies who just had to comment upon, even denigrate, our accents, and our use of the language.
While I had learnt English in normal circumstances, coping with the idiosyncrasies of the language without much thought, the Indian shopkeepers in Singapore attending an English language evening class at which I taught a few years later, could not understand why the English language is not phonetic, like their languages; or why certain words which had the same spelling had different meanings (eg. bow, row); or why certain words with similar spelling were pronounced differently (eg. rough, bough, cough; or teak, steak). They kept asking why, as they struggled to remember.
Fortunately, they would be only speaking the language, not reading it. I refrained from suggesting that the English might have the same problem with their own language, especially with their regional accents.


Which should be fed first–hay or grain? If you’re feeding correctly, this issue is truly a moot point because the horse should have access to forage (hay and/or pasture) 24/7 with no gaps. Therefore, when fed concentrates, the horse’s digestive tract should already have hay flowing through it.
If fed starchy cereal grains (oats, corn, barley, etc.) on an empty stomach, the horse will produce even more acid (potentially leading to ulcers), and it will be leave the stomach quickly. When this happens, there is a risk that it will not be fully digested in the small intestine (especially if large amounts are fed), and end up in the hindgut, where starch can be fermented by the bacterial population. This can lead to endotoxin-related laminitis.
If hay is present in the stomach first, it creates a physical barrier for the grain to move out of the stomach as quickly. Starch does not get digested in the stomach, so the grain is simply mixed and churned into a semi-liquid mass, which enters the small intestine, where it can be digested down to glucose. If there is hay present, fiber mixes with the starch and the whole mass enters the small intestine.
Fiber is not digested until it reaches the hind gut, but its presence slows down the digestion of starch, and obstructs the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream, leading to a less dramatic rise in insulin.
One thing to note: there is more water involved when hay is present (from increased drinking and saliva production). This is a good thing since digestion within the small intestine cannot take place without water.
Juliet M. Getty, PhD, is an internationally respected, independent equine nutritionist who believes that optimizing horse health comes from understanding how the horse’s physiology and instincts determine the correct feeding and nutrition practices. She is available for private consultations and speaking engagements. Getty will be speaking June 29 on “The Horse’s Decidedly Different Digestion – The Foundation to Good Health” in Santa Ynez, California. The event is hosted by the Renew A Horse Foundation. Reserve tickets by contacting the foundation at [email protected] or 805-689-6188. More information is on the web at www.renewahorsefoundation.com. Getty’s website, www.gettyequinenutrition.com, offers a generous stock of useful information for the horse person. Reach Getty directly at [email protected].


Trending – Bee Pollen
It's not just seasonal allergies people associate with pollen. In this post, we look at a trending ingredient, bee pollen.
What is bee pollen?
Bee pollen, sometimes called "bee bread" or "ambrosia," is the pellet-shaped food bees use to feed their hive. It contains pollen from many plants, nectar, and honey bee enzymes secreted by salivary glands (1,2).
It contains high concentrations of nutrients, including biologically active micronutrients like minerals, polyphenols, and vitamins, making it valuable as a nutritional source for humans.
Humans have consumed bee pollen as a food, dietary supplement, and (folk) medicine for thousands of years (1).
Is all bee pollen the same?
No, bee pollen varies significantly in composition and nutrient content based on the region the bee pollen was collected, the ecological habitat, and the season (1).
The bees' location also determines what, if any, contaminants may be present in the bee pollen.
What is it used for?
Bee pollen is a food people often use as a dietary supplement to help improve human health.
Anti-allergenic: improve seasonal and other allergies Anti-atherosclerotic: reduce cardiovascular disease risk Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal: reduce bacteria and fungi's ability to reproduce Anti-carcinogenic: reduce cancer risk Anti-inflammatory: reduce inflammation Anti-oxidative: slow damage to cells caused by free radicals
In theory, bee pollen contains the correct nutrients and micronutrients (like minerals, polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins, etc.) to help improve our health. However, it's yet to be proven clinically, so it cannot be used or prescribed as a regulated, therapeutic medication (1).
Can it treat health conditions?
While bee pollen contains many nutrients and micronutrients known to aid in human health, bee pollen has not been shown in clinical studies to cure or significantly improve specific medical conditions. Therefore, it's not regulated as medication and should not be used to treat medical conditions (1).
You can buy and use bee pollen as a nutritional or dietary supplement.
If you have a medical condition that you think bee pollen may improve, it's best to work with your physician before starting any dietary supplements, including bee pollen.
Is it regulated?
Currently, manufacturers sell bee pollen in the United States as a dietary supplement which means it doesn't receive premarket evaluation before it's available for sale.
In recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed bee pollen-containing supplements from the market because they contained illegal or improperly advertised ingredients (1,2). As with all dietary supplements, it's essential to know the source of your bee pollen.
Is it safe to eat?
For most individuals, bee pollen is safe to consume in regular quantities. However, there are some risk factors to consider when sourcing and before consuming bee pollen.
The most significant concern is around mycotoxin-producing molds and bacteria, which can cause adverse health outcomes. It's important to know the source of any bee pollen you choose to consume to ensure it's adequately vetted for any potentially harmful contaminants.
Additionally, individuals with allergies to bee stings or severe allergies to pollen and pregnant or nursing individuals and young children under the age of two should avoid consuming bee pollen or consult with a state-licensed medical professional before using it.
What about pesticides and herbicides in bee pollen? The good news.
Bees are more than pollinators and honey producers, they also produce safe, edible pollen we can enjoy. Bee pollen may even have healthful properties we've yet to discover as researchers continue to explore this bee food.


The internet contains so much essential information to broaden your perspectives. It can also allow you to remain in close contact with friends and family.
Unfortunately, the internet is also used for nefarious purposes, including cyberstalking. According to the Texas Constitution and Statutes, cyberstalking is against the law in the state. In fact, cyberstalking receives the same treatment as other instances of stalking in terms of legality.
How does the law define stalking?
Stalking involves a pattern of behavior, meaning offenses must take place repeatedly. These behaviors induce fear in a person, or would induce fear in any other reasonable person. They include threats, repeated attempts at making contact, or even unwanted gift giving.
What are some examples of these behaviors?
Lots of behavior fall into the category of stalking. This includes obscene comments conveyed over the phone, via text, or online, threats of bodily harm, repeated harassment, or threats involving property damage.
Additionally, implied threats are also against the law. This includes insinuating harm against a person, piece of property, or even family pet. Threats must also target a specific person. Threats that conveyed by another party are also against the law.
How is stalking punished according to the law?
The punishments for stalking depend on the circumstances. Most circumstances warrant a third degree felony charge. However, a second degree felony is possible if there are prior offenses on record. Both charges can result in a prison sentence.
Stalking laws cover many situations, so it is possible to receive a charge based on questionable circumstances. Understanding your rights according to the law ensures you can take the proper steps to defend yourself.


Bharat Book Bureau Provides the Trending Market Research Report on
“Global Protein Engineering Market 2022-2028”under Life Sciences Market Research Report Category. The report offers a collection of superior Market research, Market analysis, competitive intelligence and Market reports.
Executive SummaryProtein Engineering Market is the process by which a researcher modifies a protein sequence through substitution, insertion, or deletion of nucleotides in the encoding gene, with the goal of obtaining a modified protein that is more suitable for a particular application or purpose than the unmodified protein.
The report provides in-depth analysis and insights regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers into global protein engineering market. It offers an exclusive insight into various details such as market size, key trends, competitive landscape, growth rate and market segments. This study also provides an analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the protein engineering industry.
This industry report offers market estimates and forecasts of the global market, followed by a detailed analysis of the product, technology, application, end user, and region. The global market for protein engineering can be segmented by product: instruments, reagents, software services. The reagents segment was the largest contributor to the global protein engineering market in 2021. Protein engineering market is further segmented by technology: directed evolution, rational protein design. According to the research, the rational protein design segment had the largest share in the global protein engineering market. Based on application, the protein engineering market is segmented into: coagulation factors, colony stimulating factors, growth factors, insulin, interferon, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, others. On the basis of end user, the protein engineering market also can be divided into: academic research institutes, contract research organizations (CROs), pharmaceutical biopharmaceutical companies. Globally, the pharmaceutical biopharmaceutical companies segment made up the largest share of the protein engineering market. Protein engineering market by region is categorized into: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Rest of the World (RoW). By product: - instruments - reagents - software services By technology: - directed evolution - rational protein design By application: - coagulation factors - colony stimulating factors - growth factors - insulin - interferon - monoclonal antibodies - vaccines - others By end user: - academic research institutes - contract research organizations (CROs) - pharmaceutical biopharmaceutical companies By region: - Asia Pacific - Europe - North America - Rest of the World (RoW) The report also provides analysis of the key companies of the industry and their detailed company profiles including Agilent Technologies, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Bruker Corporation, Danaher Corporation, GenScript Biotech Corporation, Merck KGaA, PerkinElmer Inc., Promega Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waters Corporation, among others. *REQUEST FREE SAMPLE TO GET A COMPLETE LIST OF COMPANIES Historical Forecast Period This research report provides analysis for each segment from 2018 to 2028 considering 2021 to be the base year. Scope of the Report - To analyze and forecast the market size of the global protein engineering market. - To classify and forecast the global protein engineering market based on product, technology, application, end user, region. - To identify drivers and challenges for the global protein engineering market. - To examine competitive developments such as mergers acquisitions, agreements, collaborations and partnerships, etc., in the global protein engineering market. - To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in the global protein engineering market. Why Choose This Report - Gain a reliable outlook of the global protein engineering market forecasts from 2022 to 2028 across scenarios. - Identify growth segments for investment. - Stay ahead of competitors through company profiles and market data. - The market estimate for ease of analysis across scenarios in Excel format. - Strategy consulting and research support for three months. - Print authentication provided for the single-user license.
Browse our full report with Table of Content : https://www.bharatbook.com/report/1370154/global-protein-engineering-market
About Bharat Book Bureau:Bharat Book is Your One-Stop-Shop with an exhaustive coverage of 4,00,000 reports and insights that includes latest Industry Study, Industry Trends Analysis, Forecasts Customized Intelligence, Newsletters and Online Databases. Overall a comprehensive coverage of major industries with a further segmentation of 100+ subsectors.


NSW saw changes to strata regulation in late 2020 that had implications for owner-occupiers, and a small proportion of renters, in strata properties. However, as we outline here, these changes do not remove the barriers from the vast majority of renting households wishing to get a pet. NSW tenancy law still allows for blanket ‘no pets’ clauses, so landlords can continue to refuse requests to get a pet for any reason, or no reason at all. Here's why we're proposing that needs to change.Read more


Compr Psychiatry. 2016 Oct 5;72:83-87. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.10.001. Abstract BACKGROUND:
Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct and constitutes a common risk factor for a range of behaviors associated with poor self-control (e.g., substance use or binge eating). The short form of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-15) measures impulsive behaviors related to attentional (inability to focus attention or concentrate), motor (acting without thinking), and non-planning (lack of future orientation or forethought) impulsivity. Eating-related measures appear to be particularly related to attentional and motor impulsivity and recent findings suggest that interactive effects between these two facets may play a role in eating- and weight-regulation.
METHODS:
One-hundred thirty-three obese individuals presenting for bariatric surgery (77.4% female) completed the BIS-15 and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) 2.0, which measures addiction-like eating based on the eleven symptoms of substance use disorder outlined in the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
RESULTS:
Sixty-three participants (47.4%) were classified as being ‘food addicted’. Scores on attentional and motor impulsivity interactively predicted ‘food addiction’ status: higher attentional impulsivity was associated with a higher likelihood of receiving a YFAS 2.0 diagnosis only at high (+1 SD), but not at low (-1 SD) levels of motor impulsivity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Results support previous findings showing that non-planning impulsivity does not appear to play a role in eating-related self-regulation. Furthermore, this is the first study that shows interactive effects between different impulsivity facets when predicting ‘food addiction’ in obese individuals.
Self-regulatory failure in eating-regulation (e.g., addiction-like overeating) may particularly emerge when both attentional and motor impulsivity levels are elevated.
PMID: 27768944


Description
As it is subjective to define a person’s goal to another, the chances for a person achieving his/her goal can depend on various factors as shown by multiple researches from various fields of study. While some pursuits of success are limited by certain factors, there are others whose success grows on different factors.
Industry experts, business people, motivational speakers, entrepreneurs have all shared their knowledge, methods and skills with us to achieve our targets or emulate their success.
Despite that, many have often overlooked the importance of setting their goals clear enough to utilize the information and skills they possess effectively.


A Dyson study has revealed that Indian households may not be as clean as we think.
As per the study carried out by FICCI Research and Analysis Centre (FRAC) and commissioned by Dyson, Indian households have dust, which includes cockroach allergens, dust mites allergens, dog allergens, mould, bacteria and fungi, on surfaces where we eat, sit, play and sleep, even after being cleaned regularly using the traditional methods.
The company says that many of these particles are not visible to the naked eye and can only be seen using a microscope. The result is based on the study conducted in around 100 households across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The Dyson Global Dust Study even found that “1 in 5 were surprised to discover that viruses can be present in household dust 4 and less than 5% know that dust mites and their faeces are constituents of dust at all. In reality, house dust mite faeces are considered the most important inducers of allergenic diseases worldwide.”
Dyson, which is known for offering premium vacuum cleaners, advises people to use relevant technology to remove the bacteria, pollen and dust mite allergens found in dust.


Objective
All aspects of brain function rely on the interplay between networks of functionally related neuronal cells. These cells are connected by “synapses”, which are specialized cellular compartments dedicated to rapid electrical and chemical signalling. Excitatory neurotransmission in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is largely mediated by the ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs). These postsynaptic receptors conduct cations into the cell in response to binding of the neurotransmitter glutamate released from presynaptic vesicles. Accumulation and positioning of iGluRs at neuronal synapses are crucial for enabling correct neurotransmission. While it is known that extracellular scaffolding proteins (ESPs) interact with iGluRs to stabilize these receptors at synapses, the transient, low-affinity nature of these protein interactions has so far precluded complex structure determination and therefore a precise mechanistic understanding of their function. The aim of this proposal is to implement state-of-the-art techniques of protein engineering to stabilise iGluR:ESP interactions for structure determination by affinity maturation of their interaction interfaces. I will focus on two well-established complexes: Cerebellin-Glutamate receptor Delta (Cbln-GluD) and Neuronal Pentraxin-AMPA receptor (NP-AMPAR). Structural insights into the full-length synapse-spanning Cbln-GluD and NP-AMPAR interactions will elucidate how clustering and trans-synaptic anchoring of iGluRs contribute to synaptic transmission, as well as pave the way for the design of engineered synaptic organizer proteins capable of remodelling synapses. During this project I will gain experience in protein engineering which will allow me to establish a career as an independent scientist with a focus on tackling complex structural biology problems with translational applications.
Fields of science Programme(s) HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme Funding SchemeHORIZON-AG-UN - HORIZON Unit Grant Coordinator Partners (1)
33000 Bordeaux
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The rabbinic idiom “Tikun Olam” literally means “repairing/fixing the world” and has been invoked to promote advocacy for numerous causes and policies. But what did “Tikun Olam” mean to those who coined the phrase? In the final installment of his Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law series, Rabbi Yuter explores the specific instances of Tikkun Olam to extrapolate and infer the ideal social system as understood by the Rabbinic Sages.


If you’re a champion at, or a champion of breastfeeding, take note: Niagara will be joining the 12th annual Canada-wide Breastfeeding Challenge event on Saturday Sept. 29.
Families from across Niagara are encouraged to participate in this event that celebrates and normalizes breastfeeding, and breastfeeding in public.
The challenge is to have the most children breastfeeding at the same time in a specific area — in this case, at Sears Court in the Pen Centre (221 Glendale Ave., St. Catharines).
This is an opportunity for community with purpose, and to show the normalcy and healthiness of breastfeeding.
Participants are encouraged to arrive between 9:30 and 10:45 a.m. to register. Latch-on is at 11 a.m. sharp.
The event includes refreshments and activities led by EarlyON Child and Family Centre.
Parents can register by visiting breastfeedingniagara.ca, by calling the Parent Talk Line at 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7555, or in person before the Breastfeeding Challenge.


New York, NY
Campus Discourse: Fostering Belonging
What if we could harness the power of belonging, curiosity, and purpose to catalyze equity, thriving and, ultimately, learning?
New York, NY
PLUSSED has launched a multi-year effort to glean new insights into what conditions, practices, and strategies promote thriving in schools. We posit that a whole-school and research-informed emphasis on cultivating belonging, curiosity, and purpose has the potential to enhance both learning and thriving for students, staff, and families. This initiative arises from Riverdale’s decades-long commitment to supporting academic and personal thriving and its signature focus on mind, character, and community.
We’re excited to share the summaries from the first phase of our research here.
Thriving is a dynamic, complex, and context-specific process of growth that enables individuals and communities to be their best.
In 2021, PLUSSED undertook a yearlong effort to survey and analyze the research base on belonging, curiosity, and purpose, producing a comprehensive compendium of promising practices for thriving to guide our work at Riverdale and beyond.
PLUSSED’s literature review informs Riverdale’s five-year strategy, which now explicitly prioritizes belonging, curiosity, and purpose in service of learning. The development of a robust collection of resources and guides to support our work with Riverdale and its partners is currently underway.
During 2022 and 2023, PLUSSED will design a discovery process to connect research on belonging, curiosity, and purpose to practice. PLUSSED will also work closely with Riverdale colleagues to test innovative interventions focused on these themes.
Riverdale Administrators and Faculty
Angela Duckworth, Anne Johnstone, David Levin, Marc Sternberg, and Veronica Boix-Mansilla


2 min read Summary: According to the United Nations World Population Prospect survey, Nigeria’s population is projected to reach 339 million by 2050, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.3 trillion. Meeting this prediction can be quite daunting given the various obstacles on the ground. These include disruptions in oil production and exports, catastrophic floods, security concerns, and even global developments such as politics and market volatility. Despite these challenges, Nigeria has made significant gains in the areas of GDP growth, foreign reserves, inflation reduction, increased infrastructure projects, and empowerment.
With a population and gross domestic product projected at 399 million people and $3.3 trillion by 2050, the gulf between the reality of Africa’s largest economy and its undisputed potential remains wide—but achievable. Indeed, our major task has been to systematically implement strategies that will deliver the future we wish to see. This daunting responsibility has not been lost on the Buhari administration, and serves as the impetus for its sustained “Change” agenda.
The past three and a half years have been challenging both at home and abroad. Commodity prices, both oil and non-oil, have been volatile. Global trends, be it security, trade, or politics, have also been unpredictable. In Nigeria, we have had to cope with disruptions in oil production and exports, security challenges, and devastating floods. We have weathered these storms and made progress on many fronts, which is why we have cause to be optimistic about the future.
This administration has now set the country on the path to stability, growth, and prosperity. This government is doing more to diversify and grow a productive and competitive economy with far fewer resources. Notably, it secured the territorial integrity of the nation by reclaiming territory in the Northeast and has tackled grand corruption, introducing and improving transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
The economy has recovered from recession and we have had six quarters of growth. Nigeria’s real gross domestic product growth stood at 1.81 percent in the third quarter of 2018 compared to 1.17 percent in the third quarter of 2017.
Foreign exchange reserves grew from $28.57 billion in May 2015 to $42.92 billion by mid-December 2018. This contributed to exchange rate stability and provided a buffer against unanticipated external shocks. Inflation has also declined from a peak of 18.72 percent in January 2017 to 11.28 percent in November 2018. Nigeria has moved from a deficit to a surplus of 681.27 billion Nigerian naira in our trade balance as of the third quarter of 2018, representing a significant improvement from the deficit of 290.1 billion naira in 2016. This reflects an increase in non-oil exports and a reduction in the importation of food and items that can be produced locally.
We also committed to unprecedented investments to start and finish critical infrastructure projects in power, roads, and rail across the country, as well as direct investments in people to lift them up—the largest social investment program in Africa.
By allocating over 3 trillion naira ($8.3 billion) toward reducing our infrastructure deficit over the past three years—the largest capital spending in Nigeria’s history—we have jump-started the construction of power, road, and rail projects, which will be catalytic in connecting people, goods, and opportunities. One example, the Lagos- Kano rail, will help move freight over a more than 1,000-kilometer network of rail from the country’s busiest port in Lagos to the northern city of Kano. For effective delivery of power to critical areas, such as industries and large markets, we have decentralized the power supply by leveraging off-grid solutions, especially solar-based systems, and are enabling the deployment of broadband across the county.
We continue to focus on creating an enabling business environment for our small and medium-sized enterprises to thrive by making Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business, delivering several reforms, as evidenced by our moving up 24 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business report over the past three years. In 2019 and beyond, we are confident that by driving agriculture and agro-based industries, technology and innovation, solid minerals, and our vibrant creative sector, Nigeria will harness the energies of our entrepreneurial youth to deliver the promise of our future.
Key Recommendations: Plans should be directed towards driving the creative sector such as technology and innovations, solid minerals, agriculture, and agro-based industries to a more productive level. This will harness the energy of entrepreneurial youth to meet the projections. Source: Brookings Keywords: Diversification, Economy, Agriculture, Recession


by Brian Snyder
Karl Marx thought of history as progressive, moving from aristocracy to bourgeois capitalism to socialist revolution to communist utopia. While neoclassical economists such as Alan Greenspan and Paul Romer might not agree with Marx on much, they do agree that history tends toward progress. Today, nearly everyone on the political left and much of the political right is “historically progressive,” even if politically conservative. They all seem to believe that our children will inherit a more prosperous,


How to Prepare for a Future Privacy-Safe Privacy-Safe Technology, and the way we use it, is constantly evolving and altering the foundation of the digital advertising industry.
Consumers’ rise in concern for privacy is forcing Google’s upcoming addition of cookies and web browsing restrictions. Cookies are blocks of data that websites use to store a user’s data when browsing a website. They store valuable information such as the consumers’ shopping cart content, login credentials, user preferences, and more. Cookies allow advertisers and digital marketers to better target ads, measure conversions, add users to remarketing lists, create audience lists, and personalize experiences tailored to each consumer. However, users are having rising concerns about their privacy during their online experience, leading to Google eliminating the use of third-party cookies, projected to go into effect by the end of 2022. As we rely on these tracking mechanisms and data collection strategies for our businesses, we must look for a way to adapt to these upcoming changes and prepare for the future.
Global Site Tags
Global site tags are used to measure and send event data to platforms like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Campaign Manager, and the like, and these tags must be placed on every website. They fire once given consent, and they can model for data that we do not have visibility for. Global site tags are necessary for accurate conversion tracking, as well as collecting first-party data.
First-Party Data Strategy
First-party data can be used as a competitive advantage. It is used to retain high-value customers, gain more customers, increase efficiency, innovation insights, and more. However, the move toward a more privacy-safe future will make it harder to create audience lists. Audience lists rely on third-party cookies to add users to remarketing lists. These audience lists are smaller but have higher intent. With the upcoming shift in data collection restrictions, focusing on first-party data is crucial.
Measurement
According to Google, enhanced conversions will be available in July 2021, and they work by measuring more observed conversions. When someone fills out a form or any sort of data submitted online, the enhanced conversions feature will anonymize the user’s email and personal information and then report a conversion. It uses first-party data and consented data to fill in the gaps, allowing for more accurate measurements.
Customer Match and Audience Targeting
Customer Match uses first-party data to reach different customers and deliver personalized messages. It helps build audience lists in Google Ads, targeting your ads to your customers, and, because these ads are relevant, customers like them. Automated targeting is another privacy-forward solution that will benefit advertisers, using machine learning to predict and reach relevant audiences based on existing ones.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, now is the time to act and begin implementing these strategies. Moving toward a privacy-safe future now will allow you time to adapt successfully. Also, those who have already made the shift have seen +270% returns. Don’t know where to start? At Tandem Buzz, we can help assist you with what the future holds.


This week, Singapore and Brunei held the latest iteration of their defense dialogue. The holding of the interaction highlighted the continuing efforts by both Southeast Asian states to develop the security aspect of their broader and longstanding relationship.
As I have noted previously in these pages, Singapore and Brunei have a close defense relationship as part of their broader bilateral relationship. This is reflected not just in traditional aspects like exchanges, visits, and exercises, but also the fact that Brunei has benefited from the expertise of the Singapore Armed Forces, and Singapore’s military holds training in Brunei.
One of the mechanisms in the defense relationship is the defense policy dialogue. The dialogue, which currently features the permanent secretaries of both defense ministries, was initiated in 2009 and is intended to both review existing defense collaboration and also explore new potential areas as well. The last iteration of this was held in late 2017, which was right before Singapore was set to hold the annually rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ahead of several defense personnel changes.
This week, the defense aspect of the relationship was in the headlines with the holding of the latest iteration of the dialogue. The 7th Singapore-Brunei Defense Policy Dialogue took place on June 26, and it was held at the Rizqun International Hotel in Brunei.
The dialogue was co-chaired by the permanent secretary of the Brunei defense ministry, Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar bin Haji Ma’awiah, who was representing Brunei at this dialogue for the first time in this capacity, and his Singapore counterpart, Chan Yeng Kit, who had also been present at the previous iteration of the dialogue. Both of them led delegations that comprised of a mix of military and civilian officials from the two countries as well.
Per Brunei’s defense ministry (MINDEF), during the dialogue, both sides reaffirmed the longstanding bilateral defense ties between them, discussed ways to further enhance collaboration, and also exchanged views on regional and security issues of mutual interest. No further details were publicly disclosed about the private deliberations.
Apart from the defense dialogue, Chan’s visit to Brunei also provided the opportunity for other defense-related interactions as well. He met with a range of Brunei officials, including the second minister for defense (the defense minister portfolio in Brunei is still held by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah). And per MINDEF, he was also able to tour the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF) Defense Academy in Kampong Tanah Jambu.


Abstract
Under neutral theory, the level of polymorphism in an equilibrium population is expected to increase with population size. However, observed levels of diversity across metazoans vary only two orders of magnitude, while census population sizes (
N ) are expected to vary over several. This unexpectedly narrow range of diversity is a longstanding enigma in evolutionary genetics known as Lewontin’s Paradox of Variation (1974). Since Lewontin’s observation, it has been argued that selection constrains diversity across species, yet tests of this hypothesis seem to fall short of explaining the orders-of-magnitude reduction in diversity observed in nature. In this work, I revisit Lewontin’s Paradox and assess whether current models of linked selection are likely to constrain diversity to this extent. To quantify the discrepancy between pairwise diversity and census population sizes across species, I combine genetic data from 172 metazoan taxa with estimates of census sizes from geographic occurrence data and population densities estimated from body mass. Next, I fit the relationship between previously-published estimates of genomic diversity and these approximate census sizes to quantify Lewontin’s Paradox. While previous across-taxa population genetic studies have avoided accounting for phylogenetic non-independence, I use phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the diversity census size relationship, estimate phylogenetic signal, and explore how diversity changes along the phylogeny. I consider whether the reduction in diversity predicted by models of recurrent hitch-hiking and background selection could explain the observed pattern of diversity across species. Since the impact of linked selection is mediated by recombination map length, I also investigate how map lengths vary with census sizes. I find species with large census sizes have shorter map lengths, leading these species to experience greater reductions in diversity due to linked selection. Even after using high estimates of the strength of sweeps and background selection, I find linked selection likely cannot explain the shortfall between predicted and observed diversity levels across metazoan species. Furthermore, the predicted diversity under linked selection does not fit the observed diversity–census-size relationship, implying that processes other than background selection and recurrent hitchhiking must be limiting diversity. c Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.


In 2021, the air transport industry has been forced to adapt nearly all operations to adhere to rapidly changing regulations and travel requirements, from health status verifications to fluctuating border controls based on virus hotspots and emerging new COVID-19 variants like Omicron.
It has also been a year punctuated with extreme weather events, including an unprecedented deep freeze in Texas and record heatwaves in Canada. The year ended with the COP26 summit articula
SITA examines the five critical travel technology trends emerging from the pandemic and set to transform the industry in 2022 and beyond and calls for sustainability to be baked into today’s essential industry transformation.
1. Automation and digital health are the keys to industry recovery
Despite airport and airline IT budgets being slashed by the COVID-19 crisis, spending on automation of passenger processing is seeing a rise. The industry continues to battle new challenges with COVID-19 variants, and while there are many hurdles that must be overcome to stimulate global travel,
In addition to automated passenger processing, we need to standardize and digitalize health verification to ensure easier, safer, and more
2. Airport operational efficiency and sustainability will work in harmony
Agility, scalability, and operational efficiency have become critical considerations for airports’ business models amid the fast-changing environment imposed by the pandemic. Airports will need to operate leaner operations, drive ancillary revenue, and adapt to fluctuating passenger numbers. For that reason, cloud technology remains a key investment area. At the same time, almost all airports also plan to implement business intelligence solutions to gain better visibility across their operations, focusing on key areas such as flight operations and asset management.
Through operational efficiency, airports can also drive significant sustainability gains. According to ACI, 235 airports across Europe have committed to net-zero by 2050, and more than 90 airports are now set to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. A recent collaboration between SITA and Envision Digital is designed to help these airports in their journey towards meeting their sustainability commitments, combining solutions that optimize airport operations to reduce local emissions while optimizing infrastructure-related energy consumption.
Following calls from COP26 and rising passenger demands for more sustainable travel, airports have a sharp focus on reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Most airports have implemented sustainability initiatives such as building airport infrastructure (green spaces, use of natural light and renewable energy), widely available recycling points, and smart building technology and automation. Airports are showing a continued interest in IT that supports more sustainable printing practices as well as end-of-life recycling of IT equipment and promoting energy savings. Outside of the cost-saving benefits, Industry figures estimate that improving aviation operations and infrastructure could reduce emissions by up to 10%.
3. The pressure will remain on airlines to be more sustainable
In the air, significant efficiencies can be achieved today with potential fuel and CO2 emissions reductions of up to 10% for the flight phase. Technology can provide pilots and dispatchers with real-time access to accurate multi-source weather reports. Today’s solutions can help pilots optimize their flight profiles to maximize fuel efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and improve situational awareness for safer, more comfortable flights. eWAS Pilot provides accurate 4D weather forecasts and real-time updates from various sources to warn about hazards such as thunderstorms, lightning, clear air turbulence, strong winds, icing, and even volcanic ash. Based on this information, pilots can dynamically determine the most economical flight paths that avoid adverse weather.
The software suite OptiFlight helps save aircraft fuel and reduce CO2 emissions during the three flight phases: climb, cruise, and descent. The focus currently lies on the climb-out – the most fuel-consuming phase of a flight – and the cruise phase. In combination with airport operational efficiency, solutions like these can have a major impact today while alternative fuels are being developed and refined over the following decades. In 2022 SITA will expand its focus to offer new technologies that support ground movements as well as aircraft condensation trail reductions.
4. Regional and domestic airports must prepare for a post-pandemic boom
With domestic air travel in bigger markets such as the United States, India, and China, the first to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, regional airports are set to play an outsized role in the coming years. The question is, are they prepared for a surge of passengers?
While the operational challenges for international hubs are similar, we’ll likely see regional airports experiencing capacity constraints sooner as domestic travel resumes at an accelerated pace. The potential for national economic prosperity will also be significantly affected by their ability to improve the passenger journey while cutting costs and managing evolving health requirements through technology.
Passengers travelling from regional airports also demand the same digital experience and efficiencies they receive at international hubs. On top of that come greater airline expectations, route volatility, space constraints, staff multi-tasking, and a myriad more. Then, of course, as journeys become more digital, there’s the growing need for seamless interoperation across travel systems and technologies – not just among airports large and small, but also with other modes of transport.
Ready-to-go cloud-based (SaaS) airport management capabilities to help optimize resources while supporting collaborative processes and decision-making will be essential for these airports to thread the needle between passenger satisfaction, capacity, and profitability.
As travel becomes more connected and intermodal, having unified digital systems that simplify the passenger journey across land, sea and air will become increasingly important.
5. Blockchain will become a key technology and bring new efficiencies to air travel
Blockchain holds immense potential for the air transport industry because of its unique ability to share information instantly, securely, and privately between the dozens of stakeholders across airports, governments, airlines, and OEMs.
The air transport industry spends US$50bn a year on aircraft spare parts. Yet, tracking and tracing of these spare parts as they move between airlines, lessors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) remains largely manual.
There is no one single view of how to track hundreds of millions of records of transactions between these entities, exacerbating risk and cost. And if there is any inconsistency between stakeholder systems, the risk of data overlap increases – as does cost.
Airlines face some of the most complex issues related to MRO, from a lack of digital records to supply chain difficulties, system inconsistencies, and burdensome costs. We believe that blockchain will be vital to solving these challenges.


CultureElements in International Market
CultureElements in International Market
Culturerefers to people’s way of life. Culture can relate to anorganization (corporate culture), a distinct section of society(sub-culture), or a country (national culture). Culture includes allvalues and norms, beliefs, religion, custom and traditions,artifacts, and rituals of different people. In global marketing,culture is a significant factor and marketers should have a clearculture understanding. Language, religion, manners and customs, andaesthetics are examples of elements of culture that are importantwhen marketing products and services internationally.
Accordingto Neelankaviland Rai (2014),language reflects the values and the nature of a society. Languageplays significant roles in global business. Firstly, it is vital ingathering and evaluating information. Additionally, it provides easyaccess to the local society. Lastly, it provides the ability tocommunicate, as well as goes beyond to interpreting contexts.Therefore, international marketers should be aware of the appropriatelanguage to use. For instance, the word “aftertaste” exists onlyin some culture, and may have a different meaning in differentcultures.
Thecomplexity and the nature of religion are diverse in internationalmarketing. Religion has a significant influence on global marketingespecially on culture’s values towards consumption,entrepreneurship, and social organization. Religion element ensuresproducts and services sold in the international market are notunlawful, distasteful, or offensive to the local nations. However,its influence varies and it is less influential in the regions withmany Protestants but more profound in regions with a high Islamicpopulation. Therefore, marketers should be aware of religiousrestrictions before launching their products or services in aparticular area. For example, in 2007, China banned all advertisingthat included pigs’ images to maintain harmony among the Muslimcommunity.
Internationalmarketers should carefully monitor changes in manners and customsespecially in cases where there exist cultural differences amongpeople. Manners and customs is an important culture element becauseit helps marketers to understand people they are selling theirproducts or services (Neelankavilet. al., 2014).Further, marketers should be aware how and when different productsare used, and in the manner, they are used. For instance, in theUnited States, a Tang is placed in refreshment goods only.
Aestheticsrefers to the nature of something including ambiance, taste, smell,and artistic appreciation. Aesthetic differences affect color,design, brand name, packaging, and the media message of a particularproduct (Neelankavilet. al., 2014).Every culture has a clear statement concerning its taste in art,color, music, folklore, drama, music, and dance, among others.Aswathappa(2008),states that aesthetic is vital element in international marketingbecause it helps an international marketer to interpret symbols andsigns of artistic expression. Color, for example, has a more symbolicvalue in the international market. It is used as a mechanism fordifferentiation and brand identification. Further, aestheticunderstanding informs the marketer on the best strategies to use inproduct packaging and advertisement. Therefore, businesspersonsshould consult the meaning of different aesthetics before engaging inbusiness in any country.
Language,religion, manners and customs, and aesthetics play a significant rolein the international market. As businesses expand into region withdifferent culture, they should consider these elements to avoidfacing hurdles associated with them. If a business does not alignitself with the established culture, then, it cannot successfullyreap benefits of expansion. If marketers can understand all elementsof cultures, they can effective do well in the global market.
References
Aswathappa,K. (2008).
Internationalbusiness.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.
Neelankavil,J. P., & Rai, A. (2014).
Basicsof international business.Routledge.